Since the mid-19th century, the space adjacent to Palazzo Grassi has undergone various changes of use: from a romantic garden to an open-air theatre, which was covered up in the 1960s, and then definitively ceased its activity in the mid-1980s. After the renovation of Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana, in 2011, François Pinault became interested in the recovery and transformation of the Teatrino di Palazzo Grassi, entrusting Tadao Ando with the third project of the Pinault Collection in Italy. Following the minimalist approach and the architectural continuity consolidated during the previous interventions, the architect did not make any changes to the plan of the existing building, elaborating a project that would allow the external historical aspect to be kept unaltered, except for the addition of the orthogonal grids of steel, already tested at Punta della Dogana, in correspondence with the openings.

Inaugurated in 2013, the Teatrino di Palazzo Grassi presents two main spaces: a spacious foyer and an auditorium that can accommodate up to 225 people. Entering the Teatrino, one is greeted by a space characterised by imposing triangular-shaped openings that cut through the curvilinear walls, illuminated by a soft zenithal light coming from triangular skylights placed on the ceiling.

Unlike the spirit that had characterised the programming of the Teatrino di Palazzo Grassi in the sixties, seventies and eighties, mostly linked to the Venice Biennale, the cultural events that start taking place at the Teatrino in conjunction with the opening of the exhibition 'Prima Materia' at Punta della Dogana, in May 2013, complete the artistic offer through a selection of screenings related to some of the major artists of the Pinault Collection such as Anri Sala, Philippe Parreno and Louis Gréaud.

The opening of this space allows, with its varied and continuous cultural programme, to strengthen the Pinault Collection's role of exchange, meeting and opening towards Venice, establishing itself as one of the most dynamic protagonists of the city context through extraordinary cycles of meetings with artists, scholars and writers, screenings, workshops and masterclasses open to children and adults, but also conferences focused on art, architecture, literature and cinema, also collaborating with numerous Venetian cultural institutions and universities. With the aim of reaching an ever wider audience, the Teatrino di Palazzo Grassi has hosted, over the years, a series of insights on the themes dealt with by the works and artists on display, and cycles of projections conceived by the artists themselves in relation to the themes and to the suggestions of the exhibitions that see them as protagonists in the spaces of the Pinault Collection.